


you stumbled into my house again (no you didn't, you knocked)

by eclipse_incarnate



Series: Stumbled [2]
Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-29
Updated: 2014-06-29
Packaged: 2018-02-06 17:18:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,544
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1866003
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eclipse_incarnate/pseuds/eclipse_incarnate
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Zayn was drunk, not really. He knocked on Niall's door this time.</p><p>---------------------------------------------------------</p><p>“Are you drunk?” Niall asked, chuckling, making Zayn grip on Niall’s body as if the boy was the answer to everything in life. Niall stiffened, but softened instantaneously, feeling the warm aura of alcohol and body temperature off him.</p><p>“I’m not drunk. But I drank some beer because I couldn't sleep.” Zayn’s voice was muffled by Niall’s clothed chest. His head moved, placing itself on top of his shoulder, his chin hooking over his trapezius. Quiescence passed over them, a wave of silence surrounding them in a cocoon of utter bliss. </p><p>“Why are you here, Zayn?” Niall asked again, breaking the eerie silence of the room.</p><p>“I need you.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	you stumbled into my house again (no you didn't, you knocked)

**Author's Note:**

> Niall's POV this time! That's why I used a different pronoun than the first fic's title :) This is just some light fluff and some recalling of the first fic. Although it could be stand alone, I suggest you read the first one if you haven't! Enjoy.

Niall woke up from multiple unwelcomed knocks, startling off the bed. He hit his head by his nightstand, tangled in his favorite blanket on the floor. The moonlight spotted his face, blinding him slightly. Squinting, he shifted and removed himself from the soft fabric, feeling the cool breeze around the room.

Another series of knocks made Niall grunt, his mind shouting who _the fuck_ was upthis time of night. It was likely to be in the middle of the night, maybe two or three in the morning. His feet were cold as he properly stood up. He slipped on his evening slippers, keeping the blanket around his shivering body, and treaded toward out the bedroom door.

A loud yell from the other side of the apartment door blasted Niall’s ears, making them perk up in an attentive manner. Despite the scene, the setting, and the timing, Niall smiled with confused amusement.

“Niall,” a simple shout of his name came again, making Niall hurry up in the direction of the source of the noise. A small tap of knuckle sounded again, a whiny voice calling after. “Niall.”

Niall grasped the knob of the door, turned it, and saw a familiar face in front of him. Sprinkles of snow dust rested atop the man’s head and shoulders. A rush of cold air swept through him, alerting Niall of the scene outside, his senses snapping into focus.

“C’mere,” he said, removing the warm fabric off him, sheltering the other man quickly. Niall closed the door immediately, and stood in front of the man.

“Zayn,” said Niall. Zayn’s eyelashes were decorated with specks of white-blue snow. He blinked, a small portion of it falling down the tiled floor. Niall itched to touch them, to permanently get rid of them, to see the long of his lashes outstandingly around his warm amber eyes without the nuisance of the ice crystals. Niall started, but Zayn beat him to it, dusting off snow off his hair and shoulders and others parts of his outfit as well. He was wearing a fake-fur collared denim jacket, plain white shirt and black jeans, and his usual black boots in pair at his feet. He also had a cashmere scarf around his neck.

“Hey,” Zayn said, giving the blanket back to Niall. The blanket felt warm around Niall’s hands. He unfastened the scarf around his neck, shrugging off his denim jacket on the way. “I’m sorry I bothered you. Were you asleep? Of course you were. I’m sorry.”

 _Sorry_. The word struck Niall in an instant, his thoughts coloring unrecalled memories of the earlier year, although he’d never forget that time of the year. Zayn had constantly pestered him apologies, the _sorry_ ’s filling his mind like the snow outside, piling his head of his voice, pleading in forgiveness even though to him it wasn’t much big of a deal at the time. There were times when Niall would try to remake the past in his thoughts. _What if Niall never have gone out to that party and saw Zayn there? What if Zayn hadn’t stumble into his house at that time he left earlier than Niall? What if it wasn’t Zayn who stumbled into the house?_

So many _What If_ ’s made Niall’s head start to hurt. “Zayn, it’s okay,” he said instead. “Why are you here anyway?”

“’M home alone.” Zayn pouted, and Niall, in a habit, embraced Zayn in a warm hug, leaving the blanket on the floor. Niall absentmindedly smelled him, his body protruding an alcoholic smell.

“Are you drunk?” Niall asked, chuckling, making Zayn grip on Niall’s body as if the boy was the answer to everything in life. Niall stiffened, but softened instantaneously, feeling the warm aura of alcohol and body temperature off him.

“I’m not drunk. But I drank some beer because I couldn’t sleep.” Zayn’s voice was muffled by Niall’s clothed chest. His head moved, placing itself on top of his shoulder, his chin hooking over his trapezius. Quiescence passed over them, a wave of silence surrounding them in a cocoon of utter bliss.

“Why are you here, Zayn?” Niall asked again, breaking the eerie silence of the room.

“I need you,” Zayn said simply, looking at him with a smile, feeling Niall’s heart flutter in a delicate but stomping beats. The smile faded, his teeth biting on the inside of his bottom lip in a saddened demeanor. “Louis went home to his family today for Christmas and I’m not going home until the twenty-third. ‘M home alone now and it feels weird even though we sleep on separate beds, knowing that no one is with you in a place. It feels lonesome. Like the winter.”

Niall stepped off the boy, seeing his face completely. He liked saying stuff in similes and metaphors, Niall had noticed since they started hanging out—started going out. He was redder than usual due to the intoxicated state and the harsh cold of winter, the scarlet blooming all over his tanned complexion, his face resembling such vulnerability. He picked up the blanket off the floor, and wrapped Zayn in it again.

“C’mere,” Niall said again that night, seeing Zayn’s face light up, and he wanted to hug him again at that, so he did. “I’m here. I’ll make you tea. You can sleep here.”

~

“Where’s Harry?” Zayn asked as Niall gave him a cup of Yorkshire tea, abandoning the blanket wrapped around him.

“Asleep. Like a baby. Good thing you didn’t wake him up.” Niall showed a crooked grin, Zayn returning it with a lopsided smile.

“Yeah, I’m sorry.” Zayn said, taking a sip of the warm beverage. Niall gave him a comical look. “I’m sorry,” he said one more time.

“I’m sorry I say sorry a lot.” Zayn stated, putting the cup of tea down for a moment, sitting himself away from Niall, leaning back on the arm of the couch, pulling the blanket on him again. _His blanket_ , Niall thought. His mind went back—back to the time when he had seen Zayn sleeping on his bed, his eyes closed, his mouth opened, drool dripping off them, staining the fabric with his saliva. Niall had found it endearingly gross, but he closed the door, didn’t disturb his sleeping state, went to Harry’s temporarily available room, and stayed there. He had texted Louis at the time—he had gotten his number at the party—saying his friend was asleep on his bed. He had replied to let him, if it wasn’t a bother, and that he’d get him in the morning. Niall had let him, and fell asleep in a snap.

“Then stop it. Seriously, how many times can a man apologize?” Niall laughed at his own words, recalling his own words from the time when they were on the way to Subway. Zayn smiled at him.

“I remember that,” he said, grabbing for the cup of tea again. Niall took his own sip, Zayn copying him. “I took you out— I mean treat you out for, you know, that time after I stumbled into your house. ‘M still ashamed that happened.”

“You always are,” Niall stated, earning a shy smile from the other boy. “But if it never happened we would’ve never met, yanno?”

“Niall,” Zayn set his cup and saucer down, this time empty, and laughed. “We just live two houses away. We would’ve met anyway.”

Niall blushed, feeling his cheeks heat up. He fidgeted, and drowned the rest of his tea. “I know, but,” he paused, “it was a nice meeting. Special.”

“Extraordinary?” Zayn smirked, his blanketed feet poking at Niall’s side, making the boy squirm.

“Yes,” giggles erupted from Niall as he answered. Niall had called Zayn “simple but extraordinary”, explaining that Zayn was extraordinary in his own quirks, and that he was simple because he liked Niall. A simple man, Niall had stated. Either as a person, a friend, or a possible romantic interest, he didn’t know. “Stop that, alright?”

“Alright.” Zayn stopped, but he was still smiling. “Maybe ‘alright’ will be our always.”

“I thought you hate that book? Too pretentious? Unrealistic. Disrespectful. Unimagina—”

“I get it, alright?” Zayn snapped, shifting his back toward the back pillows, his feet awkwardly on the couch as well. “Well, I thought the ‘ _Okay? Okay._ ’ going on was still cute, though. I’m not gonna deny it. And I just realized we say ‘ _Alright? Alright._ ’ a lot since we met. I don’t know. It’s dumb, I know. Stop smiling at me like that, alright?”

“Alright.” Niall just grinned at him more, a sense of swelling around his heart overcoming him. “It could be our always.”

Zayn smiled then, and tapped on his thighs, blanket still on them. Niall followed his gesture, resting his head on them, looking at Zayn with such adoration. Zayn carded his fingers through his blonde hair, Niall’s eyes fluttering close in response, a content smile placed on his face.

“I love you,” Zayn said, and Niall’s heart rapidly raised, like drumsticks pounding on drums, the intensity soaring inside him, as if Zayn would hear them.

“I love you, too,” Niall replied. He lifted himself off Zayn, hearing the boy whine in response. He laughed at him. “C’mon let’s go to bed. Sun’s almost up.”

“Okay.”


End file.
